ThingsIThinkIThunk

Well, by now the media spectacle that is the summer of LeBron is finally peaked and is winding down. “King James” made his announcement last night that he is leaving Cleveland for the sunny shores of Miami and hopefully greener pastures (or should we say golden ones?). His announcement touched of a flood of emotional responses from the guy on the street in Cleveland to the guy that “owns” the team – most negative. In some cases very negative.

Dan Gilbert, owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, immediately fired off a letter to the media bashing LeBron. Among other things he called him unloyal and a quitter. Unloyal? Really? He was a free agent, wonder if Dan understands what that means? Loyalty is a two-way street isn’t it? Where was Mr. Gilbert’s loyalty when they traded away Zydrunas Ilgauskas last year after “Z” spent his entire 15+ year career in Cleveland? What about the other players he has traded away in the past? Where was his loyalty to them?

Mr. Gilbert also called LeBron a quitter. Really? Then why the big emotional rant when he left? Why would you want a quitter on your team Dan?

Would it have been a great, feel good story for LeBron to stay in Cleveland? Sure. Was I pulling for that? Yep. Am I losing any sleep over it? Nope. Am I angry he left Cleveland for Miami? Nope. His call, not mine. He was an employee of Cleveland for 7 years. He did his job as he was paid to do. He reached the end of his contract, looked around and realized that Cleveland just didn’t have the horses to allow him to take his game up another notch. So he found a place that had a better chance for him to grow personally. Great for him.

Even better, word now coming out says that he (and the other two “stars” in Miami) is going to play for less than max dollars. That to me, speaks volumes about the move.

Good luck LeBron and shame on you Mr. Gilbert.

Fascinating presentation by Dan Pink (from a presentation at RSAnimate) on youTube. Really interesting science behind what motivates us to do well in tasks that are more than just straight manual labor. Give it a look.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc

Interesting weekend. This past weekend was an interesting one in retrospect. In a three day span I used skills that spanned centuries and was accused of being a “renaissance man”.

The terms Renaissance man and, less commonly, Homo Universalis (Latin for “universal man” or “man of the world”) are related and used to describe a person who is well educated or who excels in a wide variety of subjects or fields.^[3]The idea developed in Renaissance Italy from the notion expressed by one of its most accomplished representatives, Leon Battista Alberti (1404–1472): that “a man can do all things if he will.” It embodied the basic tenets of Renaissance humanism, which considered humans empowered, limitless in their capacities for development, and led to the notion that people should embrace all knowledge and develop their capacities as fully as possible. Thus the gifted people of the Renaissance sought to develop skills in all areas of knowledge, in physical development, in social accomplishments, and in the arts.

On Friday, I finished up the “work week” – as if Friday actually meant anything anymore – working on a couple of websites and doing server maintenance as well as creating a whole new design for Redding Youth Soccer (watch for the new design to launch mid-June!). Saturday morning started early with me helping pour some concrete at the parent’s house for their new hot tub. I have become the “go to” in the family for finishing of concrete – it sure helps to have a father-in-law that can show you the correct way to do things (thank you Gary Coombs!)! When we finished there (and after some lunch of course – gotta keep the strength up!) I headed over to my brother’s house. There we spent the afternoon designing, laying out and installing a new tile floor in the their guest bath. All of which made for a definite Ibuprofen and Beer evening!

Sunday morning dawned bright, sunny and warm – so I headed out to the shop to work on “the bug“. The project is nearing the next phase and I just have a few small things to finish up in the metal work area before moving onto finish body work and paint. So I started the day by cutting the new widened rear fenders for the bumper brackets, got frustrated and decided to leave it for a while and move onto something else. So I welded in the new rear seat mounts and began working on the rear seat and storage. With the extensive body work in the rear seat area, I cannot use a stock rear seat, so I am building my own out of wood, that will then be upholstered to match the front seats. That took up pretty much all afternoon (pictures forthcoming).

Monday morning and back to computers…. So quite a weekend wasn’t it? Dirt, Concrete, Tile, Fiberglass, Metal and Wood – yep, think I have it covered! However, can’t say that I quite reach the level of the Italian masters, but I will say we do have something in common. World Cup starts this week and I will be watching!

ESPN Headline:

Cowboys WR Crayton wants trade

Why? Just because the team drafted another receiver? What are you scared of? If anything this should motivate you to work harder, not go running off in search of another team where you don’t have to work to keep your job.

Crayton certainly isn’t the first to go this route. Every season we are bombarded with stories of players demanding to be traded or bought out of their contracts (in the case of the NBA) so they can go somewhere else. Often it is “so they can win a ring”. Why not work harder where you are to get there? If your contract is up, fine, leave. If not, suck it up and fulfill what you agreed to!

I applauded a few years ago when Ricky Williams, as a rookie, signed a bare minimum contract that was full of incentives. Finally, someone who understood: Work hard = Get Paid! Too bad he turned out to be a flake. It would have been nice to see that start a trend, rather than be ridiculed. So, once again this year, the first draft pick in the NFL – without ever stepping on the field – will get PAID! He could turn out to be a complete bust (ya hear me Ryan, Jamarcus?), but a bust with a bankroll he will be!

Grrr…

1027 Design recently launched a new site for Advanced Imaging of Redding. Replacing their old site with a more modern site that they can update on their own schedule Advanced Imaging has taken a step forward with their marketing plans. The new site can be seen at http://www.advimaging.net/

By Bill Paterson
bpaterson@sacbee.com
Published: Monday, Apr. 26, 2010 – 12:00 am | Page 1C
Last Modified: Monday, Apr. 26, 2010 – 11:42 am
Rachel Mercik and Jen Ericson compete for high school and top Bay Area club teams simultaneously during the spring – Mercik for Oak Ridge High and the Mountain View/Los Altos Soccer Club and Ericson for Christian Brothers and the San Ramon Shock.

Not a day goes by, it seems, without a game or practice for the college-bound seniors, who travel hundreds of miles this time of year to compete for their respective teams, a routine that could end if a CIF bylaw is revised.

It’s a revision – spurred by a turf war between Bay Area high school and club programs – that area soccer supporters claim is unwise, unnecessary and possibly legally tenuous.

“I’m very, very against it,” said Mercik, who will play at Cal in the fall on scholarship and also is on the United States U-20 Women’s National Team. “They are trying to take the high school experience away from club players.”

Said Ericson, who will attend Utah on a soccer scholarship: “I think it will be wrong if we have to choose club over our classmates. Club helps us take it to the next level, but we’re also teenagers. … High school lights it up for us.”

Under CIF rules, only players who compete during the winter – the federation’s official season of soccer – are restricted from playing club soccer during the high school season. Schools that compete during the fall or spring are exempt.

That exemption might be dropped, however, when the Federated Council votes May 7 in Sacramento.
Unlike other high school sports that have clearly defined seasons, CIF soccer is balkanized. In Southern California, all four sections play boys and girls soccer in the winter because of the mostly dry weather. In Northern California, sections spread out their soccer seasons because of weather and field issues and referee availability.

The Sac-Joaquin Section plays boys soccer in the fall and girls soccer in the spring. But the North Coast Section, which includes schools from the Bay Area up to near the Oregon border, has girls teams that play in the fall, winter and spring, and boys teams that play in the fall and winter.

Complicating matters is that most high-level club programs at the high school-age level are largely year-round endeavors, and some of the most prestigious events, such as the California Youth Soccer Association-North State Cup and Association Cup, are held in the spring.

It’s the Bay Area Conference of the NCS, a 28-team small-school league, that is pushing for the exemption to be lifted.

It argues that dual-team players are overextending themselves and getting injured.

“We have some kids playing 10 soccer games in a week,” BAC commissioner Tom Welsh said. “The injury rate has skyrocketed.

“I know we’ll lose some good players who will choose to play club, and we could have some schools that might not be able to have a soccer program, but at least our kids will be safe.”

Former Davis High School girls soccer coach Ashley Yudin has dealt with the issue himself and understands Welsh’s frustration, but he thinks there is a better way than taking the radical step of changing a CIF bylaw. A change could have a ripple effect on hundreds of schools in Northern California, especially the 154 schools playing spring soccer in the Sac-Joaquin Section.

“If that gets passed, it’s going to open a whole other can of worms,” said Yudin, who now coaches the Davis High boys team in the fall and is coaching director of the Davis Legacy Soccer Club.

Yudin said cooperation is the best way for the CIF to resolve conflicts between club and high school programs, something that already is happening among some clubs and schools in the area.

Some high-level competitive clubs, including Davis, have gone on hiatus during the spring so their players can focus exclusively on the high school season.

Davis girls coach Allen Carlson has noticed a remarkable change since the switch.

“I remember how stressful it was for the kids having to go from my practice and rush to their club practices to get ready for State Cup,” he said. “It seemed like every year we’d be in the section playoffs and some of our best players were injured because they were playing so much.

“Since we made the move, we’re having better practices, and the girls are having more of a social life. … They are a lot more relaxed.”

St. Francis senior Caitlin Clark appreciates the break from club.

She said last year’s St. Francis team endured lots of injuries, and she battled sore hamstrings throughout the season because of so many games and practices as a dual-team player.

Clark, who lives near Elk Grove, sometimes played up to five matches a week and at least twice a week had club practices in Folsom – all that plus her high school practices/games and homework.

“It’s easier to enjoy playing soccer now,” said Clark, who will attend Emory University in Atlanta on a soccer scholarship and whose club team in Loomis doesn’t resume practice until after the section championships in late May. “It’s never a chore to play because it’s so much fun. But it’s nice when your body doesn’t ache all the time.”

Still, the majority of area players must make a choice if the bylaw is changed.

Oak Ridge coach Henry Reis also coaches a U-18 girls club team for the El Dorado Soccer Club, so all his club and most of his high school players play on two teams at the same time.

“It’s a touchy subject, and I have mixed feelings,” Reis said. “High school gives them a little freedom, a little break to have some fun.”

That’s why in his experience it’s rare that a high-level player bypasses high school exclusively to play club.

So Reis tries to balance his high school and club schedules to avoid burning out his players.

“You have to compromise a bit,” he said.

If they were forced to make a choice, Mercik and Ericson said they would drop high school – but it would hurt.

Mercik skipped her first two years of high school while focusing on Olympic Development Program and club commitments. But the lure of playing with her classmates was too much to pass up. She helped Oak Ridge win the Division II section championship last season.

“I know some club coaches who just say, ‘It’s only high school,’ ” Mercik said. “But we’ve got a good team, Henry is a good coach, and I’m still learning every day. I’m always getting a smarter soccer brain, whether it’s high school, indoors or competitive.”

While in her pursuit of a soccer scholarship last season, Ericson passed on playing for her high school and thoroughly missed it.

“While it’s more fun and less pressure than club, playing high school is just as much about heart, passion and school pride,” she said.

“I think it will be wrong if we have to choose club over our classmates. Club helps us take it to the next level, but we’re also teenagers. … High school lights it up for us.”

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/04/26/2705055/whats-the-goal-prep-soccer-faces.html#ixzz0mSe54umb